Smoking, grilling and curing foods, etc.

Just finished slicing a batch of Buckboard Bacon I smoked Thursday. Turned out a bit salty, but will be great in beans and we're coming into the bean time of year. Got a pot of pintos on right now.

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Cut up the chunks in the bag above the bacon just for beans. Only cured the fattier side of a pork shoulder for the bacon and made carnitas out of the rest. I could live on pig and beer --------well, maybe a little whiskey too. Gotta have all 3 food groups represented :)
 
@BOB357 that's some fine looking bacon!
Funny you mention beans. Just made a batch of Hurst 15 bean soup yesterday. Made some cornbread and some really good oven rice pilaf to go with em. Few slabs of that bacon sure would've been nice in them beans!
 
thunderwagn said:
@BOB357 that's some fine looking bacon!
Funny you mention beans. Just made a batch of Hurst 15 bean soup yesterday. Made some cornbread and some really good oven rice pilaf to go with em. Few slabs of that bacon sure would've been nice in them beans!
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Thanks. If it weren't too salty I'd be happier with it. Put about 1/2 cup of little chunks in the pintos along with some roasted poblanos out of the garden, a medium yellow onion, 4 cloves of garlic and about 3/4 cup of celery heart. Waiting for it to cook down a bit for a taste before the final seasoning. Now, if I can only keep the wife away from them. She always adds Jalapeños. Not that I have a problem with that, but sometimes just want to have the beans come out on top for flavor.
 
Just pulled the deli style pastrami I smoked today out of the faux Cambro and had a sample. Man. this thing turned out great. (recipe below)
Pastrami.jpg

Got it chilling n the fridge and will be slicing and packaging tomorrow.
 

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BOB357 said:
Just pulled the deli style pastrami I smoked today out of the faux Cambro and had a sample. Man. this thing turned out great. (recipe below)
View attachment 12763
Got it chilling n the fridge and will be slicing and packaging tomorrow.
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Looks fantastic!
In your recipe, what is Prague powder?
 
Bottles were delivered yesterday, so bottled my fermented hot sauces this morning, Has already used some of the red and gave some to a neighbor too. Both are hot enough that they'll definitely last for a good while. Picked up a 12 pound sirloin tip at Sam's Club Saturday. Cut a nice roast, 4 lbs. of stew meat and did jerky with the rest. (5#) Turned out good. So here are the fruits of my labor. Excuse the pic, but there's almost always a glare in the kitchen.
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Was watching Ina Garten the other day and she convinced me to go through all this trouble to make homemade Vanilla Extract. Dump beans in, cover with vodka. Whew. 6 months and it should be “ready” though I may try a little every so often to see how it’s progressing.
About $45 tied up in the beans and the Vodka for a quart of extract. Considering the price of extract, it’s a steal. She suggests to just keep topping up with Vodka every so often and that she’s had a jar like this in her pantry for years and years.
I’d imagine some of you have already tried this. Any advice on time frame for full flavor?

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Megary said:
Was watching Ina Garten the other day and she convinced me to go through all this trouble to make homemade Vanilla Extract. Dump beans in, cover with vodka. Whew. 6 months and it should be “ready” though I may try a little every so often to see how it’s progressing.
About $45 tied up in the beans and the Vodka for a quart of extract. Considering the price of extract, it’s a steal. She suggests to just keep topping up with Vodka every so often and that she’s had a jar like this in her pantry for years and years.
I’d imagine some of you have already tried this. Any advice on time frame for full flavor?

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No idea of a time frame, but would suggest you use a plastic lid on the jar. I've had rust problems using metal ones on tinctures.
 
BOB357 said:
No idea of a time frame, but would suggest you use a plastic lid on the jar. I've had rust problems using metal ones on tinctures.
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That’s a 2-piece Ball canning lid seal and metal ring. I thought the rubber seal on the lid was necessary. Maybe not?
 
Megary said:
That’s a 2-piece Ball canning lid seal and metal ring. I thought the rubber seal on the lid was necessary. Maybe not?
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I've had rust with them on tinctures, sauces, and other acetic things that weren't hot processed. You can get plastic lids and still use the metal rings. With that investment I'd rather be safe than sorry.
 
Looking good!
Now I'll be starving for turkey and all the trimmings until Saturday :( Daughter and her SO can't make it until then. In the mean time, we're working on a pot of andouille gumbo.
 
BOB357 said:
Looking good!
Now I'll be starving for turkey and all the trimmings until Saturday :( Daughter and her SO can't make it until then. In the mean time, we're working on a pot of andouille gumbo.
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I'd be pretty damn happy with a big bowl of gumbo about now.

I did a dry brine for a almost 3 days. Then rubbed it down with butter mixed with rub, followed by rubbing the whole thing down with more rub. I made the rub more on the sweet side to balance out the salt of the dry brine. I also smoked this on at about 300f and in a big pan to save all the juices and buttery goodness the melts off. Put all the juices over the carved meat. My arteries will be throwing a fit for weeks but oh man is it good!
 
thunderwagn said:
I'd be pretty damn happy with a big bowl of gumbo about now.

I did a dry brine for a almost 3 days. Then rubbed it down with butter mixed with rub, followed by rubbing the whole thing down with more rub. I made the rub more on the sweet side to balance out the salt of the dry brine. I also smoked this on at about 300f and in a big pan to save all the juices and buttery goodness the melts off. Put all the juices over the carved meat. My arteries will be throwing a fit for weeks but oh man is it good!
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The only part of gumbo I don't like is making the roux. Getting to ~30 SRM Without burning it can be tedious.

Now you've really got me salivating. That really sounds like a great method.

I'm changing things up a bit this year. Same fairly traditional recipe, but instead of the Traeger, will be using the rotisserie on my natural gas grill, with the smoke tube for a little love from a blend of Pecan, Hickory & Mesquite. Dry brining with Kosher salt, sage, thyme, rosemary, granulated garlic & black pepper. An orange (quartered), more herbs and some bacon loosely stuffed in the cavity. Definitely a drip pan to catch juices for some giblet gravy.

Hope you & the family have a great Thanksgiving.
 
Head First said:
View attachment 13035
As long as doing the Turkey in the trager thought was a good time to catch up on venison processing. 30#s of summer sausage going in to hopefully be done before the turkey.
View attachment 13036 lots of herbs and will hit it with butter
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That is some serious looking bit of smoking there headfirst thatll do you for sandwiches for awhile:).
 
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